Emperor Ning Kang's words changed so quickly that Jia Lian didn't even react.

It wasn’t until the eunuch in charge was ordered to go down and prepare to draft the imperial edict that Jia Lian realized from the surprise and immediately replaced Daiyu and thanked the emperor for his kindness.

It is different from the identity of Gaoming, which can only be obtained by relying on a man.

Xiangjun is also a very noble status for women, or it is called "female title".

However, a woman’s title cannot be hereditary. Over time, everyone has come to accept that it is just a symbol of personal identity.

The reason why it is said to be noble is naturally because this kind of status is extremely rare. It can even be said that, except for the noble daughters of the clan, every woman who is awarded a special status is lucky!

Putting aside the domestic and foreign concubines, such as empress, concubine, first-grade imperial concubine, etc., the status of the most noble women in the world can be divided into these levels from top to bottom.

Eldest princess, princess, princess, county lord...

These are all first-class or even higher statuses, and they are statuses that are basically impossible for others except for royal women.

The suffix of these identities is "lord", which means clearly that they are masters.

The next best thing is the title "Jun", which in ancient times was a title often used to reward ministers.

The king of the county, the king of the county, the king of the township.

From top to bottom, they are the second grade, the third grade, and the fourth grade.

Although Xiang Jun is only the lowest rank of the fourth rank, this is a title independent of men and a woman’s own title!

Every one of them, except for women from the clan, is rare. Even among the women in the clan, not every one can get the title of "Jun".

Those noble daughters of the clan who do not have titles are just collectively called "clan daughters" and can only rely on the identities of their parents and elder brothers.

Perhaps in the eyes of those people, being able to get a title, even the lowest "village king", would be a dream.

After all, Lin Ruhai was just a civil servant, and he had not reached the top yet, and was only a second-rank official.

With the official position of the second rank, his daughter was given the title of a fourth-rank rural monarch. It was just right. It not only showed the emperor's favor, but also did not make people jealous.

This is Emperor Ningkang, a monarch who has a strong mind and knows the scale of rewards and punishments very well.

Seeing Jia Lian's expression of gratitude for the emperor's favor, Emperor Ning Kang snorted softly. From Jia Lian's reaction, he knew that he must like the daughter of the Lin family very much.

He likes ministers like thisOnly when a son knows what he likes is he able to rule. He doesn't like ministers who have too much power.

　"No more gossip. How much do you know about Jiangnan Salt Policy?"

　"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have also heard about it."
< br />"Huh, Lin Ruhai made a petition before his death and recommended you to me as an imperial envoy to go to the south of the Yangtze River to investigate the salt administration and investigate the death of An Siyuan. Are you willing?"

Jia Lian immediately knelt down and said : "Be able to serve the imperial court and be loyal to Your Majesty. I will do my best to serve you as a humble minister and am willing to be at Your Majesty's disposal!"

"Very good. In this case, I will appoint you as the Supervisory Imperial Envoy within three months. , investigate the case... Well, do you have doubts?"

As Emperor Ning Kang spoke, he saw Jia Lian frowning and asked with some displeasure.

"No, I just think that only three months is a little short. Moreover, although I am stupid, I also know that cases related to salt politics are the most complicated. It’s complicated, and I’m a rough man. I’m afraid I won’t be able to figure it out in a short time...”

“What are you afraid of? I’m not asking you to go down and take charge of the salt administration. Three months is not enough?

As for the complicated... How many officials are there in the entire Yangzhou Prefecture who are above the fifth rank? How can you, the majestic Marquis of Zhenyuan, still be afraid of those local snakes?"

Emperor Ning Kang said, deliberately showing a bit of disappointment. In fact, of course he knew that the salt policy involved a wide range of things. After all, the salt policy was a behemoth that brought in 20 million taels of silver to the national treasury every year!

Of course, this number was not reached this year due to a major accident in the most important Jiangnan salt policy.

If this were not the case, he would not have carefully selected the imperial envoys to inspect. He could not make up his mind for a long time. In the end, he still felt that Lin Ruhai's suggestion was good.

Lin Ruhai said that he knew a lot about salt politics, but his help was a secondary reason. Jia Lian's newly promoted general has the spirit to dare to kill and fight, which is what he values ​​the most. Moreover, Jia Lian was born in the Duke's palace, and obviously had nothing to do with the people involved in this matter, and was indeed suitable to help him handle this matter.

How could Jia Lian stand the stimulation of Emperor Ning Kang? He looked grim and said loudly: "Since your majesty said so, I will naturally not be afraid of those so-called local snakes. But as the saying goes, the king of hell is easy to provoke, but the devil is difficult to deal with. .

Since Your Majesty has a time limit of three months to settle this case, when you are doing things, you will inevitably have to cut through the mess quickly and use violence. If trouble occurs, Your Majesty will have to protect me. My Lord."

Jia Lian's words made Emperor Ningkang look speechless. But he also thought that Jia Lian dared to raise doubts, which was a sign of serious thought. In this way, he believed that Jia Lian could handle this job well, because he waved his hand and said: "You don'tIt goes without saying that I will also give you the Shangfang Sword. All state officials involved in the case are subject to your control and dispatch.

When you encounter someone who deserves to be killed, or someone who obstructs your work, just kill him. I will bear all the consequences for you! "

What Jia Lian wanted was this last sentence, so he smiled and kowtowed: "In that case, I will definitely live up to your majesty's trust. "

"Hmph, then you go back and make preparations. I will let the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War arrange the accompanying escorts, etc., and we will set off in three days. Do you still have doubts? "

"Wei ministers accept the decree. "

　……

"Lin Xiangjun, what a nice title. ”

After coming out of the Daming Palace, Jia Lian was about to return to the Lin family quickly and tell Daiyu the good news, but he saw a carriage with eight treasures and a canopy, slowly driving towards the Daming Palace.

Jia Lian recognized that he was the prince’s charioteer, so he stood by the roadside, waiting for the ceremonial guard to pass by. The smiling face of the prince.

“Why is Marquis Zhenyuan here? "

"I was summoned by His Majesty and just came out of the South Study. "

"I see... I heard that my father intends to send Marquis Zhenyuan to the south of the Yangtze River to supervise the salt administration case? "

Jia Lian's heart skipped a beat. Although it took a while to wait for Emperor Ningkang's decree to confer Daiyu, the prince actually received the news so quickly. If the prince did not care about this matter, he himself did not I don’t believe it.

“Reporting to the prince, this is indeed the case. "

When the prince heard this, the smile on his face became even wider, and he asked in a seemingly casual conversation: "Oh, I wonder what Marquis Zhenyuan thinks about this salt policy case? ”

“Opinions are out of the question. I have just been entrusted by His Majesty to set off to Jiangnan for inspection. I will only dare to speak after investigating the results. "

"That's what Marquis Zhenyuan said. ”

The prince smiled and seemed to be very close to Jia Lian.

Indeed. Ever since Jia Lian met the prince in the prince’s courtyard, because Jia Lian accidentally saved the queen mother, It was a great help to the prince, so in the next few meetings, the prince tried to win over him intentionally or unintentionally.

Although he was not very careless, as he was the prince, he could be regarded as Give Jia Lian face.

But even the prince did not expect that Jia Lian would rise so quickly. After returning from Oala, the world could see clearly how much Emperor Ning Kang favored Jia Lian.

From this, he couldn't help but feel a little regret that he didn'tWin over Jia Lian early.

With Jia Lian’s current status, it will be difficult to subdue him in the future.

But he was not worried because he knew that compared to him, Jia Lian was less likely to vote for the third prince.

For one thing, the third prince has always been on good terms with Qingliu, and a lucky minister like Jia Lian must be out of place there.

Secondly, he heard from his servants that the several meetings between Jia Lian and the third prince did not seem to be particularly pleasant.

This made him very happy.

He is the crown prince, and as long as Jia Lian does not fall in love with the third prince, he will be regarded as his minister.

Of course he was not stingy about giving Jia Lian a good attitude.

"The Marquis of Zhenyuan has already done several important things for the court at a young age, and each one was completed perfectly, which impressed my father and the ministers in the court. , they all praised him very much.

After I heard about it, I also admired the Marquis of Zhenyuan very much.

It just so happened that I had been assisting my father in studying government affairs for some time, and it was also very good. I am concerned about the salt administration in Jiangnan. I wonder if the Marquis of Zhenyuan will inform me after the investigation results are out, so that I can better share the worries of your father?"

The prince's words with a smile, Jia Lian was shocked and surprised.

He seems to have lost his sight a little...

Originally, because the prince was kind to the prince, he was a loser, and the people in the prince's palace also embezzled two thousand silver from him. Therefore, the impression on the prince was not very good.

I didn’t expect that this prince would have such a palace.

First of all, the prince’s attitude towards wooing him was clear, because the prince had calmly changed his self-identity from “this palace” to the more cordial “I”.

Well, with the level of trust he now enjoys around Emperor Ning Kang, it is easy to understand that the prince wants to make good friends with him.

The key is what the prince said later.

He said that he cared about the salt administration, and after he got the results, he also passed a copy to him.

What does it mean to pass a copy to him? If the results of his investigation are reported back to the capital, the prince will naturally know about it.

I would like to express it specifically, it has only one meaning.

Send the results to him in advance...

Why should we send the results to him in advance? It's nothing more than that he really cares about this matter, or it has some interests in it.

Get the news in advance so that he can make corresponding arrangements!

Moreover, he also used this to test Jia Lian's loyalty. JiaIf Lian agrees to him, it will naturally mean that from now on, Jia Lian will be his...

Just a few simple words gave Jia Lian a big problem! Moreover, the prince has not given him any reason.

After all, as a prince, it is very reasonable for him to care about the government affairs. The prince did not even explicitly ask him to send a message in advance.

On the contrary, most people who can sit in the position of prince are not stupid.

If the prince is like this, the third prince who dares to challenge the prince must not be a kind person.

No wonder Grandpa would deliberately tell him not to get involved in the princely dispute.

"The prince's words are serious. The humble ministers have been ordered by the emperor to work for the court. But if there are results, they should be reported to the court as soon as possible. Naturally, they will not hide it from the prince."
< br />The prince asked him in ambiguous words, so Jia Lian pretended not to understand.

The prince stared at Jia Lian for a few times, then suddenly raised his eyebrows and smiled: "So, Marquis Zhenyuan, you don't bother to get close to me?"

Though the words are light, the relationship is important. But heavy. Even Jia Lian didn't dare to ignore it at this moment.

The prince is the crown prince. What is the crown prince? In other words, whenever Emperor Ningkang dies, the prince will be the legitimate lord of the world, and he will be the one to whom he needs to be completely loyal.

Therefore, even if you don’t surrender to the prince, you must not offend him.

At this time, the prince asked straight to the point: Are you unwilling to be loyal to Gu?

Jia Lian naturally did not dare to deal with it casually. Because he cupped his hands and said: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is aware of this. If you are a minister of the Wei Dynasty, you will be a minister of the Wei Dynasty.

Since you are a minister of the Wei Dynasty, you will be a minister of His Majesty and the Prince.

Therefore, I never dare to forget the kindness of your Majesty, and I only want to be single-minded and complete errands for Your Majesty. As for other matters, I am a rough man and dare not interfere at will. Gai Yinchen knows that everything I do is. If you receive it from His Majesty, you must not do anything to disappoint His Majesty.

In the same way, in the future when His Majesty the Dragon Rules the Nine Provinces, the ministers will serve with the same loyalty. There will never be any Any double-mindedness.

I believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not want any ministers in the court to listen to others' orders

I hope the Crown Prince will learn from my sincerity. ”

Although Jia Lian’s words were euphemistic and even a bit convoluted, the prince understood them.

Jia Lian’s meaning is very clear.

Although he is the crown prince, the one sitting on the throne now is Emperor Ningkang.

Jia Lian needs to focus on Emperor Ning Kang’s will and cannot do anything to make Emperor Ning Kang suspicious of him.

Even fearing that he would be unhappy, he also meant that Emperor Ning Kang would be loyal to him with the same attitude a hundred years later.

Hahaha, he understands everything. Because most of the smart and capable people in the court also have this attitude, and they will not blatantly fall to him easily.

It’s just that Jia Lian was the first to tell him so clearly.

He couldn’t help but laugh. Sure enough, he was really not an ordinary person to gain his father's trust so quickly. I had underestimated him before.

"What Marquis Zhenyuan said is reasonable, but I don't know. If my incompetent third brother asks Marquis Zhenyuan like this in the future, will Marquis Zhenyuan still be able to give such a decisive answer?"

Jia Lian also smiled: "Although I have little education, I also understand the righteousness. I only know that I am loyal to the Supreme Emperor, to His Majesty, and to the Prince, but I don't know that as a minister, there is a fourth person who needs to be loyal. "

"Hahaha, Marquis Zhenyuan, it's really interesting, interesting..."

The prince took a deep look at Jia Lian, lowered the car curtain, and ordered to drive.

Jia Lian stood there, watching the prince's car drive away, and then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger. The ancients never deceived me.

This is still just the prince, not the real emperor, but if he takes it seriously, he can put so much pressure on him. If he is like this, who cares about others?

He was able to persevere and not fall behind, not only because of his firm mind, but also because Emperor Ningkang himself was a smart and accomplished emperor. With this premise, he could make a firm decision to be loyal to Emperor Ningkang.

If it were a foolish and incompetent monarch who couldn't even protect those loyal to him, even if it was just to protect themselves, the ministers would find a way out for themselves.

Therefore, since ancient times, there have been so many periods of chaos. There are only so many people who, knowing the danger, still want to achieve the feat of following the dragon...

With a soft breath, Jia Lian turned around and left the Forbidden City.